1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a remote controller and, more specifically, to a remote controller with a learning function which is capable of providing new remote control signals by reading stored control signals through learning.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A remote controller with a learning function, as shown in FIG. 1 has been proposed. The known remote controller has been furnished with a receiving function, which enables the remote controller to receive remote control signals transmitted by another remote controller, operating keys and corresponding storage regions. In the known remote controller with the learning function, the remote control signals transmitted by another remote controller are received and stored in the respective storage regions that correspond to the specific operating keys, and thereby any stored remote control signal can be transmitted by the operation of the corresponding operating key of the known controller.
As shown in FIG. 1, the known remote controller with learning function comprises a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as "CPU") 1 which performs operational steps in accordance with a prepared control program and having a register 1a or the like. Connected to the CPU 1 are a read-only memory (ROM) 2 for storing the control program and remote control signals, a random access memory (RAM) 3 for writing information thereinto or reading information therefrom by the CPU 1, a signal receiving unit 4 for receiving remote control signals from another remote controller (not shown), a signal transmitting unit 5 for transmitting remote control signals read from the ROM 2 or the RAM 3 by the CPU 1, a mode changeover switch 6 for changing the operating mode of the remote controller between a learning mode and a transmission mode, and an operating unit 7 having a plurality of operating keys.
In accordance with the prior art remote controller, a remote control signal received by the receiving unit 4 from another remote controller, after being switched to the learning mode by the operation of the mode changeover switch 6, is stored temporarily in the register 1a. By operating a specific key of the operating unit 7, the remote control signal temporarily stored in the register 1a is transferred to the RAM 3 and stored in a storage region where corresponds to the operated key. Hence, by operating said specific key of the operating unit 7, after being switched to the transmitting mode by the mode changeover switch 6, the signal stored in the storage region of the RAM 3 can be transmitted by the transmitting unit 5 as a new remote control signal.
According to the above described remote controller with learning function, it is possible to carry out a remote control operation, simply, by operating the operating key of a (universal) remote controller, while the rest of prior art remote controllers with learning functions have utilized a plurality of remote controllers in order to achieve the same result, thus resulting in the improvement of operability of the remote controller.
However, in accordance with the above described remote controller with learning function, the operating keys are indispensable to perform the operation as it requires the operating keys for learning as well as controlling the remote controller. Further, since new remote control signals are stored in respective storage regions that correspond to the operating keys, it is required for the remote controller to furnish a number of operating keys with the same number of remote control signals to be learned, this in turn limits the number of control signals that can be learned to the number of the operating keys of the remote controller.
Accordingly, it has been necessary for the remote controller to provide operating keys as required by a number of remote control signals, thus resulting in the increase in size of the remote controller and the increase in number of operating keys, thereby requiring complicated operation.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a remote controller with a learning function, capable of learning new remote control signals without using any operating key, and of transmitting the learned remote control signals through a simple operation other than the operation of the keys.
It is another object of this invention to provide a remote controller with a learning function, capable of increasing a number of remote control signals to learn irrelevant to the number of operating keys, and of learning as well as performing signal conversion of remote control signals through different transfer media.